ISO: LVA
***************************************************************************
The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
***************************************************************************
AS WRITTEN
STATEMENT by H. E. MR. ANDRIS BERZINS
VICE PRIME MINISTER
HEAD OF THE DELEGATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA
FORTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
Madame Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights..." This
is an excerpt from Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the 50th Anniversary of which the World will celebrate in 1998.
We are here in Beijing for the Forth World Conference on Women to search
how reality corresponds to basic human rights principles which are
enshrined in the Declaration. Our task is not only to acknowledge the
actual situation in the implementation of the women's rights but also to
make the commitment to implement the concrete measures and actions.
These measures to be implemented by the Governments are necessary to
diminish the existing discrepancies between the declared genuine
principles and the real women's situation in today's contemporary world.
The Delegation of Latvia strongly supports that the standards set forth
by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action must be reaffirmed in the Platform for Action of
the Forth World Conference of Women. The human rights of women and of
the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of
universal human rights. The universal nature of these rights and
freedoms is beyond question. While the significance of national and
regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious
backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless
of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and
protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights
of women and girl child.
Today's world is quite different than the World of 1985;, when the
Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies were adopted. In this past decade,
enormous political changes have transformed the globe. Totalitarian
regimes have collapsed in Central and Eastern Europe and many nations
emerged from behind the Iron Curtain to begin the transition to a
democratic and civil society. I would particularly like to underline the
role of Non-governmental organizations, national and international, in
the long process towards the disruption of totalitarian regimes. They
communicated the truth to the rest of the world about the crimes and
violations of human rights oppressed by the regime. I sincerely welcome
all the representatives of the national and international NGOs who have
been able to come to Beijing to share their experience and knowledge
with the Governments.
Madame Chairperson,
Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 after fifty years of
occupation. For the last five years we are in a transitional period from
a centrally planned economy to a market economy. The Soviet period with
its declarations of ostensible equality between sexes, still has impact
on public opinion. lt. created the impression that women's equality was
generally exaggerated and altogether unnecessary. During our transition,
mention of women's equality has been received with skepticism, and is
seen as a desire to return to the communist past. This regret led to its
opposite - the idealization of patriarchal structures and the
traditional role of women. Rather than viewing women's advancement as
intrinsic to the development of our society as a whole, women's
advancement is often viewed as a threat to societal stability.
Astonishingly many women support the very views that curtail their own
physical, moral, and intellectual development. The small number of
gender-specific statistics about women's productivity, earnings and
contributions to the job market reveal that it is difficult to
accurately asses the situation and try to develop appropriate policies
and strategies. The lack of information facilitates public denial of the
very existence of any problems. .
On the one hand, a number of indicators show that women, who constitute
53.6% of our population, are weathering this process of change
adequately. Women are guaranteed full right to vote, own property, work,
and participate in all spheres of public and private life by the
Constitution. In education, 56% of college-level students are female.
Official data indicates that the present unemployment level is estimated
to be approximately equal for men and women at 6 percent. Women's
organizations are growing in number and in membership. Legislation is
being drafted to expand our maternal leave laws to include fathers.
These factors show positive developments in the status of women.
Women seem to be more vulnerable than men to the hardships of the
transition process. Privatization has resulted in a jumble of state-
owned and private enterprises, some regulated, many not. Official
statistics about women's participation in private enterprise do not
exist. The available polls indicate that this number is 2.5 to 3 times
less than the number of men. It is not unusual to see employment
advertisements which specifically seek men, even for jobs readily filled
by women. The official unemployment may seem to be comparatively low,
but on its flip side is the rate of hidden unemployment that some
estimates put at 12S, disproportionately female. institutions of higher
learning may enjoy a blossoming female population, but a higher level of
education rarely corresponds to remuneration in the job market.
Moreover, a high rate of domestic instability (70 Out of 100 marriages
end in divorce), alcoholism, and the growing number of children born out
of wedlock have contributed to the feminization of poverty, especially
in the households headed by women.
Women are indeed doubly challenged outside the home by their
difficulties within it. Female longevity, while at 73,8 years outstrips
men's on women's issues. The report provides a multifaced analysis of
the condition of women and outlines policy priorities:
An official to be appointed to monitor adherence to the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and to
provide information to the public on women's rights;
The Labor Code should be amended to facilitate child care leave for the
mother or the father;
Social welfare benefits should be supplemented to guarantee the mother's
true occupational choices and income opportunities during the first
years of a child's life; the payment of benefits should not be linked to
the mother's employment; development of pre-school institutions should
be promoted;
In order to promote the basic human rights the state must give priority
to the tax system and the budget for education culture science and
health;
The scope and detail of indicators in social statistics should be
extended and gender oriented to provide a more complete picture of the
true condition of different groups in society.
These priorities set up by the National Preparatory Committee are
attentive]y considered by the Government of Latvia as a guidelines to
incorporate the gender perspective in official policy. The Government
has made the needed amendment to the Labour Code and the upcoming
ratification by our Parliament is impending.
Madame Chairperson
Latvia have been spared from military conflicts in the past decade
excepting 9 casualties of independence supporters in 1991. Those opposed
to a sovereign and independent Latvia .did not bear a single casualty.
We are proud that Latvia's sovereignty was restored through peaceful and
parliamentary means. Thus the Gandhi philosophy chosen by Latvia's
people for national liberation proved its applicability in modern world.
The people of Latvia have great compassion for all victims of unlawful
and aggressive actions taken by one country against another or even
internally against its own population. In areas of conflict all
civilians arc extended to danger and suffering. However it is women and
girls who are subjected to especially brutal forms of violence. Mass
rape is made a systematic weapon of war to humiliate all women. Madame
Chairperson Latvia condemns this degrading and inhuman treatment of
women and girls of all ethnic origins. We are strongly convinced that in
the E Part of the Draft Platform for Action language should be
strengthened in compliance with international humanitarian law without
any shrinking. One of the objectives to be achieved in the next decade
must be an increase at 61.6 years is one of the shortest in Europe.
Female health is a critical problem: only 33% of women are considered
gynecologically healthy due in part to the extremely high abortion rate
- 120 to 130 per 100 births. Statistics clearly show the lack of
information and availability of family planning. Economical hardship has
a grave impact On the demographic situation which continues to change
for the worse. Only l0 100 births were registered per 20 400 deaths in
the first six months of this year. The birth rate per 100 residents went
down from 10.5 in 1994 to 8.1 at present. Today 26 percent of our total
inhabitants are pensioners and handicaped people and 70 percent of them
are women, many of them single.
Although women make up half of the population of Latvia they are not
proportionally represented in legislative and executive institutions.
15% of seats in the Parliament were gained by women. Among the thirteen
Cabinet ministers only one woman minister is holding an office. The
share of women among local government deputies is larger - 39%. This
reflects that voters choices are determined more by personal knowledge
of the candidate and an assessment of a candidate s professional traits.
The well known Women’s revolution in Norway on 1971 began with the
active participation of women in the local elections. The participation
of women in decision making would generate more attention to the
solution of social problems at the national level.
Madame Chairperson
Latvia is a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women. However no governmental mechanism exists
for the advancement of women and effective implementation of the
Convention. On July 11 1995 the Cabinet of Ministers adopted regulations
creating the Human Rights Office of Latvia. It is an independent state
institution whose goals are to promote and effectively ensure the
promotion and protection of human rights in Latvia. The Office s
activities will include issuing reports to the Prime Minister and
Parliament as to the actions needed to comply with relevant
international human rights law. The institution also will be responsible
for the State s reporting obligations under international human rights
instruments including CEDAW as well as for the follow up of the
recommendations made by the relevant UN committees.
Since the restoration of independence an impressive amount of work has
been done in researching the status of women influencing public opinion,
and acquiring organizational experience. National Women s conferences
take place annually. In 1993, Latvia s Women s Research and Information
Centre was established. This is the first time that Latvia is
participating in a World Conference on Women and a National Preparatory
Committee was created to conduct the preparation process. The National
Report of Latvia to the Conference represents the first true cooperation
between governmental agencies and NGOs working of the active
participation of women in promoting the peace culture. Allow me to
express the hope that the agenda of the next world conference on women
will not contain the problems of violence resulting from armed
conflicts. That the Delegates of Conference will be able to devote fully
their efforts to the question of better advancement and empowerment of
women in a democratic and civil society, based on the rule of law.
Thank you, Madame Chairperson.